Ever since Reyes escaped from a hell dimension in which Charley accidently trapped him, the son of Satan has been brimstone-bent on destroying the world his heavenly Brother created. His volatile tendencies have put Charley in a bit of a pickle. But that’s not the only briny vegetable on her plate. While trying to domesticate the feral being that used to be her husband, she also has to deal with … with her everyday life of annoying all manner of beings–some corporeal, some not so much–as she struggles to right the wrongs of society. Only this time she’s not uncovering a murder. This time she’s covering one up.
Add to that her new occupation of keeping a startup PI venture–the indomitable mystery-solving team of Amber Kowalski and Quentin Rutherford–out of trouble and dealing with the Vatican’s inquiries into her beloved daughter, and Charley is on the brink of throwing in the towel and becoming a professional shopper. Or possibly a live mannequin. But when someone starts attacking humans who are sensitive to the supernatural world, Charley knows it’s time to let loose her razor sharp claws. Then again, her number one suspect is the dark entity she’s loved for centuries. So the question becomes, can she tame the unruly beast before it destroys everything she’s worked so hard to protect?
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THE TROUBLE WITH TWELFTH GRAVE is the twelfth instalment in Darynda Jones’ contemporary, adult CHARLEY DAVIDSON urban fantasy series focusing on part time private investigator, full-time grim reaper, omnipotent god Charley Davidson. THE TROUBLE WITH TWELFTH GRAVE should be not read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events of book eleven -ELEVENTH GRAVE IN MOONLIGHT.
NOTE: If you have not read the previous installments there may be some spoilers in my review.
SOME BACKGROUND: This is the continuing story of Charley Davidson’s life as the Grim Reaper, the corporeal spirits who have yet to pass, and the man to whom she has pledged her undying love-the son of Satan-Reyes Alexander Farrow. Charley has recently discovered she and her hunky husband Reyes Farrow aka the Son of Satan, are gods-powerful, omnipotent beings whose futures, along with their two-month old daughter Elwyn Alexandra (aka Little Beep), are destined to either destroy the world, or bring peace to the heavens and earth.
Told from first person point of view (Charley Davidson) THE TROUBLE WITH TWELFTH GRAVE picks up three days after the events of Eleventh Grave in Moonlight wherein Reyes Farrow’s return to this plane of existence as the god-like deity Rey’azikeen comes with the release from Hell of innocent souls, a demon assassin, a malevolent deity, and a fifteenth century priest who will continue his murderous ways by targeting the supernatural. Not only does Charley struggle to locate the man that calls to her heart but our heroine must battle the Almighty’s Michael and his army of sword-wielding angel warriors, Hellhounds, and General ‘Wong’ for control of her husband’s destiny and possible demise.
Meanwhile, Charley’s PI business and her abilities to talk with the spirits that continue to haunt the living push our heroine towards an elderly woman who believes her house is haunted by the dead; and a friend’s misfortune to become the target of a serial stalker but a stalker who will not survive his own violent tendencies. A series of unexplained brutal deaths with the lingering burn marks by an otherworldly being find our heroine facing a conundrum as the likely suspect is the man that she loves.
THE TROUBLE WITH TWELFTH GRAVE follows Charley as she searches for the man once known as Reyes Farrow. Convinced she will be able to ‘reach’ Reyes before Rey’azikeen does any further damage, our heroine will soon learn that the god has other plans upon his return to Earth.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including the return of Cookie and Ubie, Amber and Quentin, Garrett Swopes, Charley’s sister Gemma, former slave demon Osh, Rocket and his sister Blue, gang-banger Angel, Strawberry Shortcake, Mr. Wong, Officer David Taft, FBI Special Agent Kit Carson, and Artemis the dog. Garrett Swopes will make a discovery; a series of interesting reads that will be all-important to our story line heroine.
Darynda Jones’ continues to amaze and delight with our heroine’s sass and sarcasm; the one on one interplay and witty repartee between Cookie and Charley; double entendre, euphemisms, snark and Charley’s need to label and name not only the parts of her body but Cookie’s as well. The premise is revealing, startling, energetic and animated; the characters are familiar, colorful and engaging. THE TROUBLE WITH TWELFTH GRAVE and Darynda Jones’ CHARLEY DAVIDSON UF series will captivate, energize, amuse and startle. Take a chance on Charley; fall in love with Reyes; become life long friends with the story line characters.
3.5 stars. The Trouble With Twelfth Grave is the twelfth book in the Charley Davidson series. This can be read as a standalone but all of the books build on the main storyline so I encourage you to read these books in order. Those book ends in a cliffhanger. There is violence and hot steamy sex scenes so 18+.
The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I’m not going to repeat that all of that info here. The storyline is predictable and typical of the other books in the series. But this book is still worth reading, especially if you are a Charley Davidson fan like I am. I will continue to read the more of the series when they are written.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and chose to leave a review for other readers.
The Trouble with Twelfth Grave by Darynda Jones was a powerful read for me. There is just so much involved in this story that I was laughing, crying, cringing and holding my breath as this story swept me up and didn’t let me go until the end.
Charley, Rey’azikeen/Reyes, Cookie, Garrett, Osh, Uncle Bob, and Amber are all back. Ms. Jones also brought back Michael and introduced us to Rey’azikeen’s brother, Him. There was so much going on that I just couldn’t put the book down. Charley is trying to protect her friend, Pari, help Uncle Bob with a really unusual case,tame her “feral” husband, and protect her loved ones. Action, nail-biting suspense and love made this the best one yet! And the ending – a cliff hanger that has me already wishing away this next year so that I find out how this series is going to end.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from St. Martin’s Pressvia NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own. I would like to sincerely thank St. Martin’s Press for their generosity in allowing me to read and review this book.